The present invention relates to a connector which is capable of locking socket contacts housed therein.
The present inventors have proposed, in their prior U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 717,789 (filed on Mar. 29, 1985), now U.S. Pat. No. 4,607,903 issued Aug. 26, 1986, in particular, with reference to FIG. 12 et seq. of its drawings, a connector assembly which ensures locking of socket contacts in position, which are inserted into contact housing holes of the connector body from behind, simply by turning a contact locking member molded integrally therewith.
To facilitate a better understanding of the present invention, a description will be given first, with reference to FIGS. 1 through 4, of the above-mentioned connector assembly. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a socket connector or connector body 11 is formed by a substantially rectangular molding of a synthetic resinous material or similar insulating material, and has contact housing holes 12-1 to 12-4 bored therethrough in the front-to-back direction thereof. The contact housing holes 12-1 to 12-4 each receive a socket contact which is inserted thereinto from the back of the connector body 11. In FIG. 1, socket contacts 13-1 and 13-2 are shown to be inserted into the contact housing holes 12-1 and 12-2, respectively.
The socket contacts 13-1 and 13-2 have at one end cable connectors 13-C1 and 13-C2 gripping cables 15-1 and 15-2, respectively, and at the other end substantially rectangularly-shaped engaging portions 16-1 and 16-2 for receiving pin contacts of the mating pin connector.
The connector body 11 has flap-like contact locking members 21-1 and 21-2 molded integrally therewith to be pivotally connected to upper and lower marginal edges of its one side through hinges 20-1 and 20-2. The contact locking members 21-1 and 21-2 pivot through the hinges 20-1 and 20-2 about axes parallel to the front-to-back direction. The contact locking member 21-1 has at one marginal portion a blocking projection 22-1 molded integrally therewith, which projection is inserted into the connector body 11 when the contact locking member 21-1 is turned to its contact locking position on the connector body 11 (a recess 14 made in the top of the connector body 11 in FIGS. 1 and 2). The connector body 11 has an aperture 23-1 made in the bottom of the recess 14 for receiving the blocking projection 22-1. The aperture 23-1 communicates with the contact housing holes 12-1 and 12-3 so that the blocking projection 22-1 partly projects thereinto when the contact locking member 21-1 is held in the recess 14 of the connector body 11. The contact locking member 21-2 also has a similar blocking projection 22-2 (not shown), and the connector body 11 has an aperture 23-2 (not shown) for receiving the blocking projection 22-2.
The contact locking members 21-1 and 21-2 and the connector body 11 are respectively provided with means for locking them together. The end portions of the contact locking members 21-1 and 21-2 on the side opposite from the hinges 22-1 and 22-2 are bent substantially at right angles so that they extend in the direction of projection of the blocking projections 22-1 and 22-2, forming hooked portions 25-1 and 25-2 which have inwardly projecting pawls 26-1 and 26-2 at their extended end portions, respectively. On the other hand, the connector body 11 has slots 35-1, 35-2 made in one side thereof which are contiguous to the recess 14, as shown in FIG. 3. The pawl 26-1 is engaged with the slot 35-1; in this state, the contact locking member 21-1 receives a returning force F caused by the resiliency of the hinge 20-1, locking the pawl 26-1 in the slot 35-1. Thus, the contact locking member 21-1 is held in its contact locking position on the connector body 11. In a similar manner, the other contact locking member 21-2 can be locked by engaging the pawl 26-2 with the slot 35-2.
When the blocking projection 22-1 stays in the aperture 23-1, rear edges of projections 19 of the socket contact 13-1 lie adjacent the front face of the blocking projection 22-1, as depicted in FIG. 2. Accordingly, when turning the contact locking member 21-1 to its contact locking position after inserting the socket contact 13-1 into the contact housing hole 12-1 to reach its normal position, the pawl 26-1 of the hooked portion 25-1 can be fitted into the slot 35-1, by which it is confirmed that the socket contact 13-1 has been inserted to its normal position. Furthermore, even if the socket contact 13-1 is pulled backward, its projections 19 will get into engagement with the blocking projection 22-1, by which the socket contact 13-1 is blocked from its further backward movement to thereby ensure locking the socket contact 13-1 in position. In a case where the socket contact 13-1 has not fully been inserted into the contact housing hole 12-1, the projections 19 of the socket contact 13-1 lie just under the aperture 23-1, so when the contact locking member 21-1 is turned toward its contact locking position, its blocking projection 22-1 will collide against the projections 19, with the result that the pawl 26-1 of the hooked portion 25-1 cannot be fitted into the slot 35-1, indicating that the socket contact 13-1 is out of place.
The other socket contacts are also locked in the connector body 11 by the contact locking member 22-1 or 22-2 in a likewise manner. Incidentally, small holes 17 in the top of the connector body 11 are provided for inserting a jig (not shown) by which resilient engaging pieces 18 of the socket contact are disengaged from a lug (also not shown) in the contact housing hole when the socket contact is removed from the connector body 11.
As described above, according to the connector assembly proposed previously, it is possible with the contact locking member to make sure of locking the socket contacts in position in the connector body simply by turning the contact locking members 21-1 and 21-2, which are molded integrally with the connector body 11 through the hinges 20-1 and 20-2, to their contact locking position, without requiring any particular separate parts therefor. However, the hinges 22-1 and 22-2 become less elastic through aging and by repeated turning operations of the contact locking members 21-1 and 21-2; so that when even a relatively weak external force is applied to the contact locking members 21-1 and 21-2, the hinges 20-1 and 20-2 may easily be broken or cut. For example, where the hinge 20-1 is broken, the contact locking member 21-1 will disengage from the connector body 11 and fall off therefrom. In this instance, the socket contact 13-1 is locked to the connector body 11 only by engagement between the resilient engaging pieces 18 and the aforementioned lug in the contact housing hole 12-1, so the locking is insufficient and the socket contact 13-1 is likely to come off from the connector body 11. Furthermore, when the socket contact 13-1 is to be replaced because of its defect or bad connection between it and the cable 15-1, it is not possible to make sure the inserted position of the new socket contact and lock it unless the contact locking member 21-1 is present.